Proverbs 11:3
“The integrity of the upright guides them,
but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.”
Some words from childhood stick with us for reasons we can’t explain. Integer is one of them. For some, it brings back memories of neat number lines and simple arithmetic. For others, it may trigger flashbacks of math quizzes that felt like they were written in a foreign language. If that’s you, take a deep breath, you’re safe here. And if you need someone to blame, blame Latin, not your math teacher.
Because hidden inside that old math term is a profound spiritual truth.
The Latin word integritas, from which we get integrity, is the root of integer. An integer is a whole number. Undivided. Nothing missing. Nothing fractured. And that is exactly the picture Scripture paints of the upright.
The upright are not perfect, but they are whole. Their lives are not split between competing loyalties. Their hearts are not fractured by hidden compromises. Their character is not divided between public image and private reality. They are whole and therefore they are guided.
Proverbs says, “The integrity of the upright guides them.”
A divided heart wanders.
A fractured soul stumbles.
But a whole heart walks straight.
Integrity is not about flawless performance. It is about alignment, your inner life and outer life pointing in the same direction. It is the soul becoming a moral integer, a whole person in the hands of a holy God.
When we walk in integrity, we reflect something far greater than ourselves. We mirror the undivided goodness of God, whose nature is whole, simple, and perfectly aligned with truth. Integrity is not just a virtue; it is participation in the wholeness of God Himself.
May your life today be guided not by pressure, fear, or divided motives, but by the quiet strength of a heart made whole before God.
Shalom!
The Reverend Blessing Jacobs.
copentecost 